Well there is a big headline telling you about the inclusion of Chrome and you still get the option to decline that offer and only get Google Earth, plus it is not like the homepage is cluttered with unnecessary stuff so that you actually have to search for that option.

So the only thing they could do for the "quick scrollers and clickers" is to label the download button according to the option selected, so that everybody knows what they are getting when they press the mouse button.

I don't mind so much when vendors place other software they want to promote in a bundle with their more popular software (well, I mind, but it's a valid business practice that works, so I can't blame them)... but having it checked by default is not good (regardless of how readily you advertise the fact that it's there).

Don't really mind them them bundling it, if at least the button would change accordingly, in other words; If the checkbox is ticked then change the text to: "Download Google earth and Google chrome now"

These bundling pracitices are annoying as of other vendors.It's one of those things that jeopardize trust for Google as it's not putting the user first.

I was recently surprised to find a Google toolbar installed on my computer and it turned out it was bundled with a Flash player. I'm sure you could probably find a notice of it somewhere in the flash download process but who reads this stuff?

>Well there is a big headline telling you about the inclusion of Chrome

So what? Is there also a big headline telling you about the inclusion of IE? If Microsoft wanted, could it get Google to add the big headline, telling you about the inclusion of IE?

Since the answer to both of those questions is a most resounding NO, I would have to say that this Google practice is, as Ionut says, disgusting.

One commenter (Leif902) writes ("well, I mind, it's a valid business practice that works, so I can't blame them"). To me, that is a sad commentary of the current state of affairs. So what if it works? Google is supposed to be a "better" company than that. Google is supposed to have principles. Microsoft doesn't have principles, so it bundles, and does "what works" because it cares more about itself than its users. Google used to have principles, used to do not "what works", but "what was right", because it cares more about its users than itself.

Google has now adopted those very same "it works" Microsoft business practices. We need to realize that.